With Christmas just around the corner, an abundance of gifts and toys will be winging their way into most homes, leaving parents with the thorny issue of how best to get their kids to say thank-you – and more importantly, actually feel grateful for what they’ve...

Trips to supermarkets with young children in tow can be extremely stressful – especially at this time of year when the shops are stacked high with Christmas goodies. Most parents admit that it’s something they’ve come to dread. Kids get bored easily so it’s not...

We’re a 24 hour news society with an endless stream of information filtering into our homes whether we want it or not. So when random terrorist attacks occur, such as the recent ones in shopping centres and tourist resorts, it can be hard to protect our children from...

Parents can easily fall into the trap of continually saying ‘no’ to their children – especially to toddlers who are running round exploring and touching new things every minute of the day. On the face of it, there’s nothing wrong in telling your child that they can’t...

Exams frighten almost everyone and today’s students have to face more of them than any previous generation, so it’s not surprising that stress and anxiety can begin to overwhelm even the most able. We all know that feelings of nervousness quickly lead to a lack of...

I’m often asked if it’s a good idea to introduce rewards as an additional incentive to get children to behave well. On the face of it, it does sound like a good idea – we’re all naturally goal-seeking individuals and surely if you’re going to have to push...

It may drive you mad, but kids fight. It’s natural. They fight because they are bored, they want attention, they feel tired, jealous or angry and don’t know how to express it. You’re very unlikely to stop the squabbles completely, but learning how to resolve these...

No parent consciously sets out to feed their child a highly processed junk food diet that’s full of sugar and fat, but it’s an easy trap to fall into. Busy working mums and dads coupled with kids who have their social diaries crammed with after-school clubs and...

If you have a child that seems to worry all the time, you’ll have noticed that it’s pretty near impossible to say the right thing that will stop the endless concerns about things that have never happened and are never likely to happen. Common childhood...

Most parents feel that kids spend far too much time on electronic gadgets and wonder what they can do about it. Let’s face it, modern-day life includes an increasing number of screens, whether it’s TV, smartphones, tablets or computers, so it’s not...

Children as young as four years old are now routinely given homework by their school teachers to complete on a nightly basis. It’s also not uncommon for schools to recommend youngsters continue working throughout the holiday periods too – it all adds up to a lot of...

Of all the daily arguments in the home, bedtime flare-ups are one of the most common. Young children, in particular, are prone to meltdowns at this time – and let’s face it, late in the evening both tired parents and children are running low on patience and the...

“How many hours sleep are children supposed have?” is question I’m often asked. Many parents are unsure of exactly how much sleep their children should be getting and how many hours constitute a ‘good night’s sleep’. Nowadays experts would...

Parents often ask me what they should do about the inevitable overload of chocolate at Easter time. Is it a good idea to restrict the amount you allow your children to consume and ration it out slowly over a few weeks – or simply turn a blind eye, let them...

Oh, those irritating habits! There can’t be a parent in the land who hasn’t experienced the irritation that comes with watching their child’s persistent thumb-sucking, nail-biting or hair-pulling (trichotillomania). Even celebrity parents such as the Beckhams can’t...

Copying or ‘modelling’ as it’s known, is often said to be at the heart of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) – it’s how the creators of NLP began their studies. They studied behaviour and language patterns of experts in the field of psychological therapy and...

Are your family mealtimes turning into a bit of a nightmare with fussy eaters, lots of noise, mess and fuss? These are my Top Tips to help getting round the table a more relaxed and fun affair. 1. Make mealtimes inviting – a family mealtime can offer much more than...

Explore new foods away from family mealtimes. Too often we introduce new foods ready cooked, served up on the plate – a bit of a fait accompli. This kind of pressure can create a feeling of anxiety in a sensitive child. Take the time to explore new foods away from...

Many reasons are put forward as possible causes of a bedwetting problem for example: the size of the bladder a urinary tract infection a lack of hormones to concentrate urine something that runs in families stress or anxiety Some children are referred to Enuresis...

Halloween can be great fun – after all, spooky face-painting, elaborate dressing up and spider cupcakes make kids laugh. But for some, it can trigger off a sequence of fears, phobias and nightmares that are hard to shift afterwards. The mind and body are very...

Feeling anxious about the first day back at school is only natural – for both children and indeed their parents. These 10 tips will help to make the transition back to school easier: Avoid confusing your own feelings of nervousness with your child’s: In the run up to...

Most Dads look forward to Father’s Day, don’t they? The one day in the year when it’s legitimate to quite simply put your feet up, chill out and enjoy having a bit of a fuss made of you by the rest of the family. On the face of it, it doesn’t...

When people learn that I’m a Hypnotherapist, one of the first questions they ask me is “Have you ever HYPNOTISED your own children”? And usually, they’ll whisper it behind their hands. I generally give some stock answer that probably only answers half the question...

We often hear that ‘Living in the moment’, or ‘Mindfulness’ can reduce stress and greatly enhance the quality of our lives – it’s also an excellent way of reducing your child’s worrying. Based on Buddhist philosophy, ‘mindfulness’ is a deliberate way of being...

Bedwetting – also known as nocturnal enuresis – affects most children up to the age of three as the development of bladder function control can be a slow process. It’s a common problem, especially in the under-fives and according to figures published by the British...

Is post-natal anxiety turning you into a bag of nerves? We’re all familiar with the term “post-baby blues”, but did you know it’s not uncommon for new mums to develop “post-baby fears, phobias and anxieties” too? Around 8% of new mums all over the world are thought to...